scholarly journals All the right moves: why in utero transfer is both important for the baby and difficult to achieve and new strategies for change

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 979
Author(s):  
Helena Watson ◽  
James McLaren ◽  
Naomi Carlisle ◽  
Nandiran Ratnavel ◽  
Tim Watts ◽  
...  

The best way to ensure that preterm infants benefit from relevant neonatal expertise as soon as they are born is to transfer the mother and baby to an appropriately specialised neonatal facility before birth (“in utero”). This review explores the evidence surrounding the importance of being born in the right unit, the advantages of in utero transfers compared to ex utero transfers, and how to accurately assess which women are at most risk of delivering early and the challenges of in utero transfers. Accurate identification of the women most at risk of preterm birth is key to prioritising who to transfer antenatally, but the administrative burden and pathway variation of in utero transfer in the UK are likely to compromise optimal clinical care. Women reported the impact that in utero transfers have on them, including the emotional and financial burdens of being transferred and the anxiety surrounding domestic and logistical concerns related to being away from home. The final section of the review explores new approaches to reforming the in utero transfer process, including learning from outside the UK and changing policy and guidelines. Examples of collaborative regional guidance include the recent Pan-London guidance on in utero transfers. Reforming the transfer process can also be aided through technology, such as utilising the CotFinder app. In utero transfer is an unavoidable aspect of maternity and neonatal care, and the burden will increase if preterm birth rates continue to rise in association with increased rates of multiple pregnancy, advancing maternal age, assisted reproductive technologies, and obstetric interventions. As funding and capacity pressures on health services increase because of the COVID-19 pandemic, better prioritisation and sustained multi-disciplinary commitment are essential to maximise better outcomes for babies born too soon.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 458
Author(s):  
Ana Bravo-Moreno

This article focuses on women who have opted to be mothers on their own by choice in the UK and Spain, and how their access to assisted reproductive technologies in the National Health Service was affected because they were 35 years old or older, forcing them to go to private clinics for their treatment. Having given birth to their children, the participants face a second obstacle: the lack of policies that support work-life balance. A third obstacle also arises, in the form of a lack of childcare and early-education provision, particularly in the UK. The last two obstacles affect the whole population, but they are intensified in the case of solo-mother-families where the mother is responsible for simultaneously being the caregiver and the sole economic provider. Solo motherhood by choice highlights the impact of the absence of these policies, and the inequalities that result from current contemporary conceptualizations of family, woman and early-childhood-care and education. This article draws on ethnographic research that took place in the UK and Spain where I conducted 60 in-depth interviews and participant observations. The aim is to provide an analysis capable of capturing and confronting how inequalities affect women-mothers-workers and their children.


2020 ◽  
pp. 144-150
Author(s):  
S. V. Barinov ◽  
A. A. Belinina ◽  
O. V. Koliado ◽  
I. V. Molchanova ◽  
A. A. Shkret ◽  
...  

Introduction. The number of women with multiple pregnancy is increasing worldwide, especially in countries with a high level of health care, where assisted reproductive technologies are widely used. According to foreign studies, one third of twins are born as a result of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), so only an increase in multiple pregnancy can be predicted in the future. The main obstetric problem with these pregnancies is the problem of carrying.Objective: To identify the predictors of preterm birth in patients with multiple pregnancy in order to improve monitoring and prophylactic measures among this cohort of women.Material and methods: A retrospective controlled observational study, including 154 patients with multiple pregnancies was carried out. Logistic analysis was used to identify the predictors of preterm labour.Results: The study showed that the predictors of preterm birth varied from one trimester to another. Based on the identified predictors, the predictive models for each trimester of pregnancy were compiled. Most of the identified predictors are related to obstetrical history. Risk groups formation, based on the identification of these predictors, is extremely important for qualified medical support. Prophylactic measures should be performed on the pre-conceptional stage. Pregnancy planning should be recommended only after treatment of chronic endometritis, followed by control of vaginal microflora and progesterone support. It is hardly possible to talk about the prevention of cervical insufficiency. However, cervical correction is an important factor for perinatal outcomes improving. The research suggests that the insertion of cervical pessary in women with multiple pregnancy and cervical insufficiency allows to prolong the gestational period for 7 weeks.Conclusion: a comprehensive approach of management of women with multiple pregnancy based on the prognostic scales of preterm labour, allows to reduce the preterm birth rate.


Author(s):  
I. Glenn Cohen

This chapter focuses on the right (or rights) to procreate in the United States, with a focus on reproductive technology use. The United States has been too often described as the “wild west” of reproductive technology use. When measured against many of its comparators—Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany, etc.—it is undoubtedly true that more forms of reproductive technology use are permitted in the United States than elsewhere. It is for this reason that the United States has been a frequent destination for “circumvention tourism” or “fertility tourism.” At the same time, it would be wrong to think that reproductive medicine is unregulated in the United States. The chapter argues that it is just that the regulation is more fragmented, both in terms of the locus of control (federal vs. state authority, governmental vs. professional self-regulation, etc.) and also of the legal sources involved (more of a focus on tort law and family law than direct regulation at the statutory or constitutional level).


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 728
Author(s):  
Eguzkine Ochoa

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are the treatment of choice for some infertile couples and even though these procedures are generally considered safe, children conceived by ART have shown higher reported risks of some perinatal and postnatal complications such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and childhood cancer. In addition, the frequency of some congenital imprinting disorders, like Beckwith–Wiedemann Syndrome and Silver–Russell Syndrome, is higher than expected in the general population after ART. Experimental evidence from animal studies suggests that ART can induce stress in the embryo and influence gene expression and DNA methylation. Human epigenome studies have generally revealed an enrichment of alterations in imprinted regions in children conceived by ART, but no global methylation alterations. ART procedures occur simultaneously with the establishment and maintenance of imprinting during embryonic development, so this may underlie the apparent sensitivity of imprinted regions to ART. The impact in adulthood of imprinting alterations that occurred during early embryonic development is still unclear, but some experimental evidence in mice showed higher risk to obesity and cardiovascular disease after the restriction of some imprinted genes in early embryonic development. This supports the hypothesis that imprinting alterations in early development might induce epigenetic programming of metabolism and affect long-term health. Given the growing use of ART, it is important to determine the impact of ART in genomic imprinting and long-term health.


2018 ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
T.G. Romanenko ◽  
◽  
O.M. Sulimenko ◽  
S.O. Ovcharenko ◽  
◽  
...  

The objective: conduct a comparative clinical and statistical analysis of obstetric and perinatal complications in singleton and multiple pregnancies after assisted reproductive technologies (ART) according to archival documents (pregnancy observation data and birth history) and identify features of multiple pregnancy. Materials and methods. During the period 2017–2019, 522 women gave birth in maternity hospital «Leleka» after assisted reproductive technologies, 331 women were observed in the maternity hospital «Leleka». 445 women gave birth with a singleton pregnancy and 77 with a multiple pregnancy. A clinical and statistical analysis of 150 pregnancy and childbirth histories was performed. All pregnant women were divided into two groups: Group I – 75 pregnant women with singleton pregnancies after ART; Group II – 75 pregnant women with multiple pregnancies after ART. The selection criteria for comparative clinical and statistical analysis were women whose pregnancies occurred as a result of ART, namely by in vitro fertilization (IVF) using five-day frozen embryos. Mathematical research methods were performed in accordance with the recommendations of O.P. Minzer (2013). The reliability of the cancellation of the mean pairs was calculated using the Student’s and Fisher’s criteria. Graphs were designed using the program «Microsoft Excel». Results. Complications of early pregnancy in multiple pregnancies were: anemia (47.8% vs. 22.9%; p<0.01), placental dysfunction (43.3% vs. 22.9%; p<0.01), the threat of abortion (41.8% vs. 28.6%; p<0.01). Complications of the second half of pregnancy: preeclampsia (52.7% vs. 20.6%; p<0.01), fetal growth retardation (20.0% vs. 7.4%; p<0.01), gestational anemia (76,4% vs. 32.4%; p<0.01), placental dysfunction (47.3% vs. 22.1%; p<0.05). Complications in childbirth in women with multiple pregnancies were as follows: premature rupture of membranes (30.9% vs. 10.3%; p<0.05), anomalies of labor activity (16.4% vs. 5.9%; p>0.05), fetal distress (29.1% vs. 14.7%; p<0.05), premature placental abruption (3.6% vs. the absence of this indicator in group I). In patients of group II with multiple pregnancies 3.7 times more often the pregnancy ended prematurely compared with singleton (21.8% vs. 5.9%; p<0.05). Early preterm births predominated, of which births occurred in 3.6% of cases at 22–28 weeks, 7.3% at 28–32 weeks, and 6.4% at 32–34 weeks. Significant increase in the frequency of 32.7% of abdominal births in multiple pregnancies against 11.8% of patients in pregnancy with a single fetus (p<0.01). The structure of indications in patients of group II was as follows: severe preeclampsia 27.8%, development of fetal growth retardation and fetal distress of 11.1%, respectively, premature placental abruption 16.7%, the following single indications (pelvic presentation of the fetus, transverse or oblique position of the fetus, clinically narrow pelvis, abnormalities of labor, scar on the uterus) – 33.3%. Significant increase in the total frequency of neonatal asphyxia of varying severity in multiple pregnancies (35.0% vs. 5.9%; p<0.05), fetal growth retardation (27.3% vs. 11.8%; p<0.01). Conclusions. Multiple pregnancies are a high risk factor for gestational anemia, preeclampsia, placental dysfunction, early fetal growth retardation, and fetal distress during pregnancy and childbirth. This causes a high level of abdominal delivery. Therefore, further research to predict and prevent obstetric and perinatal complications in multiple pregnancies after ART is relevant today. Keywords: obstetric and perinatal complications of pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, assisted reproductive technologies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelynne Paris-Oller ◽  
Sergio Navarro-Serna ◽  
Cristina Soriano-Úbeda ◽  
Jordana Sena Lopes ◽  
Carmen Matas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In vitro embryo production (IVP) and embryo transfer (ET) are two very common assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in human and cattle. However, in pig, the combination of either procedures, or even their use separately, is still considered suboptimal due to the low efficiency of IVP plus the difficulty of performing ET in the long and contorted uterus of the sow. In addition, the potential impact of these two ART on the health of the offspring is unknown. We investigated here if the use of a modified IVP system, with natural reproductive fluids (RF) as supplements to the culture media, combined with a minimally invasive surgery to perform ET, affects the output of the own IVP system as well as the reproductive performance of the mother and placental molecular traits.Results: The blastocyst rates obtained by both in vitro systems, conventional (C-IVP) and modified (RF-IVP), were similar. Pregnancy and farrowing rates were also similar. However, when compared to in vivo control (artificial insemination, AI), litter sizes of both IVP groups were lower, while placental efficiency was higher in AI than in RF-IVP. Gene expression studies revealed aberrant expression levels for PEG3 and LUM in placental tissue for C-IVP group when compared to AI, but not for RF-IVP group.Conclusions: The use of reproductive fluids as additives for the culture media in pig IVP does not improve reproductive performance of recipient mothers but could mitigate the impact of artificial procedures in the offspring.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e024012
Author(s):  
Katherine Morton ◽  
Sarah Voss ◽  
Joy Adamson ◽  
Helen Baxter ◽  
Karen Bloor ◽  
...  

IntroductionPressure continues to grow on emergency departments in the UK and throughout the world, with declining performance and adverse effects on patient outcome, safety and experience. One proposed solution is to locate general practitioners to work in or alongside the emergency department (GPED). Several GPED models have been introduced, however, evidence of effectiveness is weak. This study aims to evaluate the impact of GPED on patient care, the primary care and acute hospital team and the wider urgent care system.Methods and analysisThe study will be divided into three work packages (WPs). WP-A; Mapping and Taxonomy: mapping, description and classification of current models of GPED in all emergency departments in England and interviews with key informants to examine the hypotheses that underpin GPED. WP-B; Quantitative Analysis of National Data: measurement of the effectiveness, costs and consequences of the GPED models identified in WP-A, compared with a no-GPED model, using retrospective analysis of Hospital Episode Statistics Data. WP-C; Case Studies: detailed case studies of different GPED models using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods including: non-participant observation of clinical care, semistructured interviews with staff, patients and carers; workforce surveys with emergency department staff and analysis of available local routinely collected hospital data. Prospective case study sites will be identified by completing telephone interviews with sites awarded capital funding by the UK government to implement GPED initiatives. The study has a strong patient and public involvement group that has contributed to study design and materials, and which will be closely involved in data interpretation and dissemination.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the National Health Service East Midlands—Leicester South Research Ethics Committee: 17/EM/0312. The results of the study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conferences and a planned programme of knowledge mobilisation.Trial registration numberISRCTN51780222.


2014 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. e48-e49 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Senapati ◽  
M.D. Sammel ◽  
S. Boudhar ◽  
C.B. Morse ◽  
K.T. Barnhart

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